In Deuteronomy 31:6 Moses tells the nation of Israel to be strong.
In Joshua 1:6-9 three times God tells Joshua to be strong.
Strong in these verses means to be courageous, firm, resolute, and to prevail.
God wants us as His followers to be courageous, not letting fear direct us.
God wants us as His followers to be firm, not unstable.
God wants us as His followers to be resolute, not complacent.
Ephesians 6:10 says, “Finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”
At times we all feel weak. Satan uses fear, fatigue, and frustrations as weapons against us.
So how do we become and stay strong followers of Jesus till the end?
2 Timothy 2:1
So, my child, draw your strength from the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
We must be empowered by the grace of Jesus.
In the New Testament we find three types of grace.
Saving Grace
Ephesians 2:8-9
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.
Equipping Grace
Romans 12:6
In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.
Empowering Grace
1 Corinthians 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them - yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
The grace referred to in 2 Timothy 2:1 is empowering grace. It is the grace that God gives us to deal with issues and problems in our lives that are ongoing.
In 2 Corinthians 12 Paul talks about a “thorn in the flesh” that he has and he asks God three times to remove it.
Jesus’ answer is found in 2 Corinthians 12:9. Jesus says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Jesus did not remove the issue in Paul’s life. He gave Paul the ability to deal with it by His grace. In doing it this way Jesus received the continual glory for it.
How do we receive this empowering grace of God?
We have to acknowledge our weakness.
If we don’t acknowledge we have a weakness then we don’t really need God’s empowering grace. We are saying, “I can handle it all by myself.”
We have to saturate our minds with God’s Word.
Psalm 119:25-28
I am laid in the dust; preserve my life according to Your Word. I gave an account of my ways and You answered me; teach me Your Decrees. Cause me to understand the way of Your Precepts, that I may meditate on Your wonderful deeds. My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to Your Word.
God’s Word is true, so it can show us the truth of God and the truth of our situation. It gives us the understanding that God is greater than our struggles.
We have to thank God for His empowering grace.
We want ask God for help and then want to see if He comes through the way we want Him to before we thank Him. The pattern in Scripture is we ask and then thank God for the grace before we see the answer. Remember, righteous people walk by faith not by sight (or emotion).
When we stop focusing on the difficulties of living the Christian life and start thanking Jesus for His empowering grace, we receive power to overcome every issue, obstacle, and hindrance in our lives.
2 Timothy 2:2
Take the things you heard me say in front of many witnesses and pass them on to faithful people who are also capable of teaching others.
We must multiple.
Multiplying is making disciples. It is not a program. It is not for some special “class” of believers. It is what Jesus commands all of us as Hid followers to do according to Matthew 28:18-20
It is continually investing our lives in the people around us, teaching them and walking with them through life’s joys and trials.
We must be willing to work and sacrifice.
2 Timothy 2:3-7
Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them. And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules. And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor. Think about what I am saying. The Lord will help you understand all these things.
We are given three pictures of the work and sacrifice we will face so God can grow us stronger.
The first picture is of a soldier.
A good soldier endures hardships.
John 16:33
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
We will face hardships or tribulation. Things like persecution, being misunderstood, being lied about, and opposition.
A good soldier does not get entangled with trivial things. Our focus is on doing God’s will.
A good soldier wants to please his commanding officer.
Our commanding officer is Jesus and our desire is to please Him in everything we do.
The second picture is an athlete.
An athlete competes by following the rules.
The rule we follow is the rule of Jesus as Lord of our lives according to His Word - the Bible.
An athlete trains and conditions his body for the competition.
An athlete doesn’t just show up for the games; he shows up for the practices.
An athlete does all that so he can win.
We as Jesus followers do that to win the prize.
The prize is the victor’s crown. The wreath placed on the head of the victor of an Olympic contest. It is not a kingly crown. That one belongs only to Jesus.
The third picture is a farmer.
Being a follower of Jesus is many times just plain hard work.
When the farmer works hard, he harvests a crop that he gets to enjoy.
When we as followers of Jesus work hard, we see a crop harvested.
The crop is people surrendering their lives to Jesus and entering into the Kingdom of God.
The harvest is worth the work, because Jesus wants there to be a great harvest.
In Matthew 9:37-38 Jesus says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labors are few, therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labors into His harvest.”
In 2 Timothy 2:7 we are told to think about what has been said. We are to examine our lives to see if we are growing stronger. God will help us to see the reality our lives by His grace.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about working hard and living a life of sacrificial service.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about allowing Jesus to use you to multiply by making disciples.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about allowing the grace of Jesus to strengthen you daily.
Jesus wants us to be strong - courageous and firm and resolute and to prevail. This will happen as we surrender our lives to Jesus as the strength and authority of our lives.
Strongly Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
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